If you’re looking for convenience on the drive then Levin or Otaki are good options, as well as Marton which isn’t too far off the drive from Wellington to palmy north. If you’re flying back out of Wellington I’d love to host you at shandon which I am a member at - nothing standout about it but it’s probably the closest 18 holer to the city
There is also Miramar which is right next to the airport - I don’t know if it’s been converted into a. 9 hole yet but either way it’s an option if you’re stuck for time
I’ll be on the South Island October 16th-29th. Spending the first week in Christchurch for work then exploring the rest of the island the 2nd week. Considering bringing the clubs now. Just wanted to know if it’s worth trying to get tee times this last min. Also any travel rec’s for CHC and the south island in general?
Whats the policy at Cape Kidnappers for playing with an NZ resident? If I play with a local, can I get the NZ resident price (via them paying for me) or are the pretty strict about making visitors pay the (rather high, good lord!) international price regardless of who they are playing with?
Got a meeting with my hosts this week, and was going to test the waters to see if there were any golfers that wanted to take a day/afternoon off with me for a round, but if it wasn’t going to help cut down the price I wasn’t going to bring up Kidnappers.
Will be heading to NZ for my honeymoon in about a month. We just decided to start our trip a week early and are going to spend a couple nights at Te Arai on the font end. My wife is not a golfer, but I’m going to play the South one day. Any tips for playing the course, and if I should take a caddie? Mid-high handicap, but thinking I may appreciate having someone walk with me to talk about the course. Any NZ locals that have tips for some fun beaches or excursions nearby that I can do on days I’m not playing?
If you’re into wine then Brick Bay and Herons Flight are great. Tawharanui regional park is a great beach, Te Arai point, there’s also Omaha and of course Mangawhai nearby. If you’re there on a Saturday morning the Matakana local market is great.
In terms of the course, keep it further left off the tee on 3. 6 dead over the middle of the dune may feel left but its where the fairway ends up. The green on 9 is bigger than you think, the back 9 is mostly in front of you so just enjoy the views. We didn’t take a caddy the first time I played it, in hindsight would’ve enjoyed it more if I had taken one
Evening/morning all! Like a few others in this thread, I’m lucky enough to be honeymooning in your great country this coming January. I’ve managed to negotiate with my wife that two rounds of golf is reasonable, given how long we’ll be away from the Golf Coast in Scotland.
Based on our itinerary, Paraparaumu and Jack’s Point look like they’ll fit in best — and I honestly can’t wait to get out there.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the recommendations in this thread. Cheers!